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Monday, January 13, 2014

Recent Read: The Killing Woods

The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher

Emily's dad emerges from the woods one night carrying what she thinks is the body of a deer, but it's not; it's the body of a girl--one of her classmates. Her dad is charged with manslaughter--accused of killing the Ashlee during a PTSD flashback. But Emily doesn't believe it. What really happened that night?

Emily’s not the only one wanting to know what happened that night. Ashlee’s boyfriend Damon woke up wondering why his girlfriend wasn’t next to him, his memories of the previous night foggy, at best.


Told from the alternating voices of Emily and Damon, the reader is very much inside each of their distinct heads, and neither one of them shares everything with the other, making for very different perspectives and interpretation of events and evidence. Christopher unfolds this riveting mystery piece by piece, always giving the reader significant information, without ever being predictable. As Emily and Damon both investigate and analyze the events, they find themselves awash in doubts and also drawn together in ways they never expected. Though at its heart this is a mystery, The Killing Woods explores deeper themes, like guilt, character, and trust, and tells more personal stories, like that of Emily coming to grips with her father’s PTSD. The Killing Woods is one gripping, psychologically intense, and emotionally charged murder mystery. Loved it.

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